New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India has expressed “deep concern” about the Rajasthan Government’s decision to make the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance 2017 into an Act in the current legislative session.
“(It) was ostensibly done to protect the judiciary and the bureaucracy against false FIRs. But in reality it is a pernicious instrument to harass the media, hide wrongful acts by government servants and drastically curb the freedom of the press guaranteed by the Constitution of India. The Editors Guild wants the Rajasthan Government to immediately withdraw the ordinance and desist from making it into law,” read a statement signed by Guild president Raj Chengappa, general secretary Prakash Dubey and treasurer Kalyani Shankar, The Indian Express reported.
Also Read: Rajasthan ordinance is against free speech, say legal experts
“Rather than taking stern measures to prevent and punish those who indulge in frivolous or false litigation, the Rajasthan government has passed an ordinance that is bent on bludgeoning the messenger. While the Guild has always stood for fair, balanced and responsible reporting of FIRs filed in courts of law, it believes that the remedy being employed by the Rajasthan government is draconian and gives it untrammelled power to even imprison journalists for reporting matters of public interest,” the statement said.
BJP MLA to boycott event over ordinance
Jaipur: Rajasthan BJP MLA Ghanshyam Tiwari has said that he will boycott a programme on Monday, organised by a trust headed by Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria, to protest against the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017.
Tiwari is among the 11 MLAs who were to be honoured at the event organised by the Shri Sundar Singh Bhandari Charitable Trust.
“Please consider this a political protest. Through this letter, I would like to resist the Bill which you, as the Home Minister, will present in the Assembly in the next few days. You will be making a law which will shield those openly indulging in corruption — chief minister, ministers and officials,” Tiwari said in a letter to Kataria on Sunday.